Australia in the Asian Century - White Paper

The scale and pace of Asia’s transformation is unprecedented and the implications for Australia are profound. Australia’s geographic proximity, depth of skills, stable institutions and forward-looking policy settings place it in a unique position to take advantage of the growing influence of the Asian region.

The Australian Government commissioned a White Paper on Australia in the Asian Century to consider the likely economic and strategic changes in the region and what more can be done to position Australia for the Asian Century. Specifically, the paper includes:

the current and likely future course of economic, political and strategic change in Asia, encompassing China, India, the key ASEAN countries as well as Japan and South Korea;

the domestic economic and social opportunities and challenges of the Asian Century for Australia;

opportunities for a significant deepening of our engagement with Asia across the board, including in the economy, science and technology collaboration, clean energy, education, business-to-business and people-to-people links and culture;

the political and strategic implications of the Asian Century for Australia; and

the role of effective economic and political regional and global cooperation.

The White Paper sets out a strategic framework to guide Australia’s navigation of the Asian Century. It also sets out a series of actions that will be taken over the next five years and further policy initiatives to be developed over the next 10 to 15 years.